Wardrobe suitcase



1ys1 1 4 I BMHAMUN f 1, 8, 4

WARDROBE SUITCASE Filed Sept. 28, 193'1 ,2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

gym 5mm M Ham/7 am TORNEY.

July 31, 1934. HAMLlN 1,968,643

WARDROBE SUITCASE Filed Sept. '28, 1931 2 'Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

@7777 -57777777 M flaw/77L A TTORNE Y.

Patented July 31, 1934 WARDROBE SUITCASE Benjamin Hamlin, Racine, Win, minor to Wheary Trunk Company, Racine, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Application September 28, 1931, Serial No. 565,548

2 Claims. (Cl. 190-41) This inventionrelates to traveling bags, more particularly to awardrobe suit case adapted. to accommodate one or two suits of men's clothes.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a suit case having garment supporting means therein for two suits of clothes, one of the garment supports being removable without affecting the position of the other.

It is a further object of thepresent invention to provide a novel connection between the clothes 3 frame and suit case, such that the clothes frame is free to move slightly in a vertical direction to accommodate varying thicknesses of garments on the frames.

, "1 And a further object of this invention is to simplify the structure of wardrobe suit cases, generally increase the convenience and utility thereof, and still other objects will be apparent from the following description.

A structure embodyingthe invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and will be hereinafter fully described, the invention residing in certain novel features which will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

7 In the drawings;

means for the clothes hanger, showing aportion of the hanger with the pivotal connector in place;

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the garment carrying frame and the locking means therefor. Referring to the drawings in which like numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views, the suit case is shown as comprising two pairs of parallelside walls 10-10 and 12-12' which are joined together to form a rectangular compartment having a bottom 13, and a top 15.

The walls 10, 12 and 12 are provided with shoulders 24-24 while the cover 15 has corresponding portions so that the cover 15 fits down over the shoulder 24-24' to form a practically moisture-proof and dirt-proof joint.

cooperating parts 20 which are attached tothe corresponding edge of the top 15. The top or cover 15 is connected to the side wall 12', opposite the side 12 carrying the handle, by means of a hinge 21 which permits the cover to be lifted an up and maintained in an approximately vertical position above the case while packing or unpackmg.

A shoe box 26 is mounted adjacent the side 12 which carries the handle 17 and has a top 27 a5 hingedly connected with the side 12 or'with one edge of the box 26.

A garment supporting means is mounted in the main compartment of the suit case and comprises a clothes hanger 30 and a garment carrying frame, generally designated 31. The clothes hanger 30 is hingedly connected in the main compartment of the suit case, the hinged connection, which is best illustrated in Fig. 4 comprising a pair of brackets 32 and 33 permanently fastened to the side 12' of the case and connected together by means of a pin 34. The clothes hanger has attached thereto a metal strap 35 having an arcuate end portion 37 of a width approximately the distance between the faces of the brackets 90- 32 and 33, engageable with the pin 34-to hold the clothes hanger.

The garment carrying frame 31 comprises a pair of arms 40 joined at their outer ends by a rod member 42 and having the ends of the arms 40 opposite the rod 42 turned upwardly into the top of the case, as shown at 44. The upturned end portions 44 are hingedly connected with a downwardly projecting arm 45 which removably fits in a channel shaped retaining member 47 fixed in the main portion of the suit case. A retaining board 49 is removably attached to the arms 40 in a manner fully described in a copending application to George Henry Wheary, Serial No. 544,508, filed June 15, 1931. M

A second garment supporting means is mounted in the cover of the suit case and comprises a second garment carrying frame 50 and a second clothes hanger 52. The connection for the clothes hanger 52 is identical to that of clothes hanger 30, and no further description of it will be given.

The garment carrying frame 50 comprises a pair of parallel arms 54 joined together at their outer ends by a rod 55 and in their intermediate 105 portions by a retaining board 56 similar in all respects to the rod 42 and the board 49 respectively of the frame 31.

The inner ends of the arms 54 are provided with a pin-like connecting member 57 having a 110 reduced neck 59 terminating in a head 58, the pin 57 being adapted to pivotally mount the frame 50 in a retaining member 60. The retaining member 60 is made from a fiat strip of metal cut and pressed into form and comprises a body portion which has been numbered 60 and a pair of outstanding arms having inturned portions 61. The ends of the inturned portions 61 are spaced apart so as to leave adequate room to receive the neck portion 59 but to retain the head 58 between the inturned portions 61 and the body 60. The body 60 has an outstruck portion 62 therein against which the head 58 abuts to form a lower limit for the pin 5'7 in the retainer 60.

The'connection 60 with the pin members 57 provides a connection which is not only pivotal but which permits limited translational movement of the pivotal point during packing and at such times when the garment supporting means '50 is lowered to receive the garments. It will be noted that when the garments are packed on the lower garment supporting frame 31 that the garments will raise the supporting frame off the top 2'7 of the shoe box 26.

When the upper supporting means 50 is lowered to a position superimposed upon the supporting means 31 and the clothes packed on the supporting means 50, there needs to be some give in the pivotal connection. This is accomplished by permitting translational movement with the cover open and the upper frame in a horizontal position. The supplying of translational movement prevents bending and warping of the upper frame and gives a generally more satisfactory connection.

If desired, the lower portion of the retainer 60 may be bent so that one end is attached to one side of the top and the opposite end attached to the adjacent side in the manner shown at 63 in the drawings.

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the garment carrying frame 50 is provided with a clip 65 fixed to-the top of the case which retains the frame 50 within the top while opening the case or while packing the lower frame 31.

It will thus be seen that there has been provided a wardrobe suit case having provisions therein for two separate suits which may be packed on separate supporting means so as to allow the removal of one independently of the other and that either or both of the frames are readily removable from the suit case and that furthermore, the upper frame during packing may accommodate itself to the thicknesses of the garments upon the lower frame so as to prevent bending and warping of the upper frame.

It is realized that the invention is susceptible to various changes and modifications coming well within the scope of one skilled in the art and it is not, therefore, desired to limit the invention to the particular form herein shown and described, but only by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to secure by Leters Patent is:

1. In a wardrobe suit case of the character described including a main section and a cover section hingedly connected thereto, garment supporting means within the main section comprising a frame and a hanger, means hingedly mounting the frame and the hanger adjacent the hinged connection of the sections for simultaneous movement to and from a position disposed over the open top of the main section when the case is open whereby garments positioned on said supporting means occupy the plane of the open top of said main section, a second garment supporting means carried by the cover section and including a frame and a hanger, said frame being substantially co-extensive with the cover section, and common means to pivotally and slidably mount the frame of said second garment supporting means from the cover section adjacent the hinged connection of the sections whereby said second garment supporting means is movable to a position over the first mentioned garment supporting means, said slidable feature of the mounting for said second mentioned garment supporting frame accommodating the thickness of garments positioned thereon and on the first mentioned garment supporting means to enable said second mentioned garment supporting means with garments thereon to be fiatly engaged with the first mentioned garment supporting means and garments thereon.

2. In a wardrobe suit case of the-character described including hingedly connected sections, garment supporting means within one section and comprising a frame including side arms and a cross bar connecting the side arms at one end, said frame being substantially co-extensive with said section, and means slidably and pivotally mounting said frame in said section comprising stamped fittings attached toopposite walls of said section adjacent its hinged connection with the other section, each of said stamped fittings having a flat attaching wall portion from which flanges project to provide a substantially tubular guideway, the edges of the flanges being spaced apart to afford a slot open at one.end, means to effectively close the tubular guideway at the opposite end, and a pin carried by each side arm of 'the frame at its end remote from said cross bar,

said pin having a reduced neck portion engageable in. the slot and being engageable with the closing means to normally retain the pin engaged in the slot. v

BENJAMIN M. HAMIJN. 

